I am currently working with a client who asked me to revise a logo concept I had drawn in Illustrator to be more cartoony or hand-drawn. He thought the original drawing looked too much like clip art. He was right. Luckily, I knew a technique to achieve this cartoony feel. I’ll show you how to begin with the even strokes that Illustrator creates when you draw, and transform them into looser,

I’ve started a new logo project for Orchestrated Home (orchestratedhome.com). He designed a serviceable and attractive logo for himself. Now he wants a logo that communicates what his company offers, and has the polish that a professional designer can create. Orchestrated Home sells home automation devices that can remotely control thermostats, sprinklers, appliances, etc. by a cell phone.

Based on my latest Blue Lobster illustration, I put together a new business card. But first, here’s the one I rushed so I could get it printed for a business conference a few weeks ago:

This was eye-catching at first, but I was disappointed to notice that when it was printed, the contact information was not easy to real. At all. I should have made it plain black text. If you make it difficult

My first logo (on the left) was, frankly, created hastily in my eagerness to get this Web site up and running in late February. However, the primordial idea in my head was to have the lobster more dynamic, jetting backward through the water as lobsters do by swiftly scooping their telson (tail) under them. Lobsters walk forward and swim backward.

CMYK stands for Cyan-Magenta-Yellow and Key color (black). These are the primary colors for the translucent ink used in offset lithography (printing). When you subtract all four CMYK colors, you get the white of the paper (no color). That’s why CMYK is called “subtractive color”. After the jump, learn more!

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About Dawn Pedersen

I am a science educator, web designer, artist, and mom. I have an AS degree in biology, a BA in fine art, and an MA in education. I have earned teaching credentials in biology and art. I have been designing for Web and print since 2000, and I taught high school and college for 12 years. I live in California.